Working in Bahrain as a French National: Work Permit, Salary, Taxes and Social Protection

The visa issued on arrival does not allow you to work: for a job, the employer files a work permit application on the system of the Labour Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA), under decision No. 76 of 2008. France Diplomatie (the French foreign ministry) refers to the LMRA website for work visas. The residence permit is then printed by the employer from the national portal.

• Documents: the passport, valid for at least six months (the LMRA recommends two years), a medical report less than two months old issued by an approved centre and concluding fitness, and, for certain professions such as teachers, doctors, engineers or banking jobs, an approval letter from the authority concerned.
• Fees: BHD 97.5 for six months (reserved for employees already in the country), BHD 195 for one year and BHD 390 for two years, plus BHD 5 administrative fee and, for recruitment from abroad, BHD 30 for advertising the job offer.
• Timelines: 3 working days for an application from within the country and 21 working days from abroad, for the LMRA’s approval.
• Registration: the employee goes to the LMRA, or to the airport, for biometric data; they receive a SIM card there, and their salary is paid into a bank account through an IBAN.
• Changing employer: the LMRA offers transfer and grievance services; the employment contract and the reciprocal obligations of employer and employee are published in several languages.

The guide to working abroad helps you choose between secondment and expatriation, and the glossary defines the local contract. The settling-in formalities are in the guide to living in Bahrain. Conversions use the day rate of the Central Bank of Bahrain on 05/10/2026: 0.423242 dinar per €1.

According to the guide to wages and end-of-service pay published by the LMRA in December 2024, salaries are set by contract or, in some cases, by agreement with the employer, and are paid at least once a month, or at most once a week. The texts consulted (Law No. 36 on labour in the private sector and LMRA publications) set no general minimum wage: the level is negotiated in the contract, and benefits (housing, transport, schooling, plane tickets) are read line by line in the offer.

• Payment: the wage protection system is compulsory for private-sector employers; late payment gives the right to compensation of 6% of salary up to six months’ delay, increased by 1% per additional month within a limit of 12% of annual salary.
• Probation: three months at most, raised to six months for certain professions, with one day’s notice on either side during probation.

The official sources consulted publish no average salary by sector: the level of an offer is compared against the benefits and the cost of living described in the guide to living in Bahrain.

Law No. 36 on labour in the private sector sets in particular:

• Hours: 48 hours a week at most; 8 hours a day unless otherwise agreed, within a limit of 10 hours; during Ramadan, a Muslim employee works no more than 6 hours a day or 36 hours a week.
• Rest and overtime: a weekly rest of at least 24 hours, Friday by default; overtime is paid with a premium of at least 25% by day and 50% by night; working on a rest day gives the right to 150% or to a day in lieu.
• Leave: 30 days of paid annual leave at least after one year of service, at the rate of two and a half days a month; 60 days of maternity leave on full pay, plus 15 days unpaid.

End-of-service pay for expatriate workers in the private sector amounts, for three years of service or less, to half a month of salary per year; beyond that, it is half a month of salary per year for the first three years, then one month of salary per year. Since March 2024, the employer pays a monthly contribution to the Social Insurance Organization, which pays the indemnity within 10 working days of the request, after resignation or end of contract: decision No. 109 of 2023 sets this contribution, payable by the employer alone, at 4.2% of salary for the first three years, then 8.4%.

The national portal specifies that expatriates come under the Social Insurance Organization for work accidents and unemployment, that pension schemes are limited to nationals, and that the law provides a statutory end-of-service payment for expatriate employees. The 2006 unemployment insurance law does indeed cover nationals and expatriates alike. The guide to retirement helps you anticipate the absence of a local pension.

The Bahrain National Bureau for Revenue administers VAT, excise duties and the domestic minimum top-up tax on multinational groups: its website presents no personal income tax. VAT applies at 10% since 1 January 2022, with a zero rate for certain goods and services, including basic foodstuffs and private education.

The treaty between France and Bahrain, signed in Manama on 10 May 1993, entered into force on 1 August 1994; a protocol signed in Paris on 7 May 2009 entered into force on 1 February 2011, and the multilateral convention against base erosion, applicable since 2019 for France and since 1 June 2022 for Bahrain, also amends it (consolidated text on impots.gouv.fr, the French tax authority website).

• Tax residence (article 4): a person resident in both states falls under the state of their permanent home, then of the centre of their vital interests; an employee who keeps their home in France can remain a French tax resident.
• Salaries (article 13): they are taxable in the state of residence, unless the employment is exercised in the other state; a stay of 183 days at most in the year, with an employer who is not a resident of that state and no burden on a permanent establishment, leaves taxation to the state of residence.
• Self-employed (article 12): income from a liberal profession is taxable only in the state of residence, unless there is a fixed base in the other state.
• Avoiding double taxation (article 20): for income other than that of articles 6, 11 and 12, the tax credit granted in France is equal to the French tax corresponding to that income, including the public remuneration of article 15.

A non-resident for tax purposes who receives French-source income declares it every year: the minimum rate is 20% up to €29,579 of net taxable income and 30% above (notice 2041-E, 2025 income return). The personal situation is checked on impots.gouv.fr; the guide to secondment or expatriation sheds light on common cases.

France has no social security agreement with Bahrain: the country does not appear on the CLEISS (the French liaison centre for international social security) list of bilateral agreements in force. An employee seconded outside an agreement remains affiliated to French social security for 3 years, renewable once, while meeting local obligations. The employee on a local contract comes under the Bahraini scheme: the employer pays the end-of-service contribution to the Social Insurance Organization and insures non-Bahraini workers with an insurer, health insurance Law No. 23 forbidding it from receiving any consideration from the employee for this inclusion.

The arrangements of the CFE (the French social security fund for expatriates), supplementary pension and voluntary contributions are detailed in the CFE guide and in the guide to healthcare reimbursement in Bahrain.

The national portal presents Bahrain as a country where 100% ownership of a business is possible for foreigners. The health insurance law places the licensed worker with no employer among the insured people who pay their own premiums and those of their dependants, and the non-working resident among those who insure themselves. Golden Residency then makes it possible to apply for a work permit from the LMRA.

The official sources consulted do not describe a visa specific to remote work: a French national working remotely for a foreign employer asks the LMRA and the Nationality, Passports and Residence Affairs authority about the suitable permit. Cover solutions are in digital nomad insurance.

France Diplomatie describes the most diversified economy in the Gulf Cooperation Council: the non-hydrocarbon sector accounts for more than 80% of GDP, while oil provides more than 60% of budget revenue and nearly 40% of exports (2021 data). Bahrain is the world’s leading aluminium producer after China, and its “Vision 2030” emphasises finance, including Islamic finance, tourism and industry. About forty French companies operate locally.

The currency is the Bahraini dinar, pegged to the US dollar at 0.376 dinar per dollar, a rate virtually unchanged since 1980 according to the Central Bank of Bahrain. To compare health cover linked to a local contract or a secondment, the expat health insurance page gives benchmarks; Expavy helps you weigh them against your situation.